Family carers' practices or responses endorsed, maintained and further cemented the smoking behaviours of their family members: Why is this?

Although the rate of smoking in the Australian population has dramatically decreased during the last thirty years, people with mental illness still continue to smoke at high rates. While studies have examined smoking behaviours within health settings from the perspectives of health professionals and mental health consumers, there has been little attempt to understand how family carers respond to the smoking activities of family members within the family environment. This study, the first in Australia focused on exploring family carers' experiences and perspectives of smoking by
family members living with mental illness with the aim of informing smoking cessation practices.Using a qualitative approach, the study found family carers felt isolated and alone in dealing with smoking behaviours and experienced little support from mental health services. As a result the study found that family carers' practices or responses endorsed, maintained and further cemented the smoking behaviours of their family members. Study findings indicated that there are clear implications on how services could respond, how family carers might be supported and directions for
tobacco control and smoking cessation policies generally. Given the absence of research undertaken in this area, this study makes a significant contribution to developing an understanding of the barriers and enablers to smoking and the challenges faced by those with mental illness who smoke and those who care for them. Learning Objectives: 1.The audience will gain an insight and understanding of the every-day lived experiences and responses of family carers to smoking behaviours of a family member with mental illness. 2. This study may inform how services could respond, how family carers might be supported and directions for tobacco control and smoking cessation policies generally